Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 230 Winter Solstice
After Zhu Ying left, the emperor once again issued a gag order to everyone in the Qianqing Palace.
"You are not allowed to reveal a single word of what Lord Zhang and Lord Wang discussed today. Otherwise, you will be sentenced to lifelong hard labor as before, and you will not be pardoned even if you are pardoned !"
During the previous selection of a son-in-law, despite his repeated prohibitions, someone still couldn't help but leak the news. With the order of collective punishment in place, the palace maid was reported almost immediately after she leaked the news. The emperor, who had always been lenient to his people, was furious and directly punished the palace maid with fifty lashes of the sword and made her a laundry slave. The eunuch who seduced her to leak the news was directly beaten to death.
That was not all. The Empress Dowager also issued an order that if the palace maid was beaten to death or disabled, the executioner would be punished as well; if she died in the laundry department within three years, the head of the laundry department would be punished as well. The eunuch who had leaked the information was in the palace of Concubine Xu, who was stripped of her title and imprisoned in the palace. The rest were all assigned to clean the palace gardens. For a time, the whole palace was silent and no one dared to spy on the Qianqing Palace anymore.
As for the palace maids and eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace, no one dared to have any other ideas. The palace maids waited obediently for their age to be released from the palace; a few eunuchs waited obediently for the opportunity to be promoted. No one wanted to run into the tip of the spear and the knife of the empress dowager and the emperor's purge of the palace.
Therefore, the emperor's shocking move to personally matchmake the second son of Duke Zhao, Zhu Erlang, and the niece of Shuntian prefect Wang Jie was unknown. As for Wang Jie's report on the new spinning machine and Zhang Shou's presentation of the blueprint, no one dared to spread the news.
In this peaceful and tranquil scene, the Winter Solstice Court finally arrived. This was Zhang Shou's first time to attend such a grand event. He was dragged to rehearse with other doctors from the Imperial College three days in advance. The scene reminded him of the rehearsals of various evening parties in later generations. Moreover, just as some evening parties had to be attended in order to ensure exposure, he also couldn't be absent from the Winter Solstice Court.
The lady of the house patiently passed on to him various experiences of the day - from how to deal with urgency, to how to fill the stomach in advance to prevent fainting from hunger, to what kind of clothes to wear under the official uniform, and what kind of preparations to make under the official boots to prevent losing manners due to frozen hands and feet in the sudden cold weather in the capital... As a result, Zhu Ying, who was listening nearby, couldn't help complaining.
"Every time the Emperor talks about the three major events, New Year's Day, Longevity Day and Winter Solstice , he sighs and complains. Can't he be simpler and not so complicated and grand? This would actually be better for everyone!"
Zhang Shou laughed immediately. This was exactly the same as many people in later generations complaining about the formalism of various meetings and the lengthy and boring topics. Seeing the lady staring at Zhu Ying angrily, he coughed and said, "Yingying, after all, there are envoys from all over the world, many of whom are even foreigners with different hair and skin colors. The court wants to show its majesty, so everyone has to reluctantly play their roles well."
He was grateful to Taizu for saving many court meetings for low-ranking officials; he was even more grateful for the fact that the court meetings were held earlier in the summer and later in the winter; and of course, he was even more grateful to the emperor. If it were not for the reason of rectifying the academic atmosphere of the Imperial College, he, as a doctor of the Imperial College, would have attended court more often. Of course, while he was happy, many of his colleagues were heartbroken, like Yang Yiming of the Ratexing Hall.
During the rehearsal of the Winter Solstice Court Assembly, he saw with his own eyes that the elderly Dr. Yang was so excited that his eyes filled with tears, and he even bruised his forehead when he kowtowed. At one point he wanted to remind him that the emperor was not coming at all, and it would be better to save his energy for the Winter Solstice Court Assembly to avoid being unable to muster up emotions by then.
At this time, Zhang Shou did not mention the joy of his colleagues attending the Winter Solstice Court Assembly. Seeing that Zhu Ying also began to remind him to put special pads on his knees, and also confidently said that this was invented by Emperor Taizu, and began to teach him the trick of hiding a small close-fitting heater under the official uniform, he could not help but laugh and accepted this kindness one by one.
However, he thought he was well prepared, but when the lengthy winter solstice court meeting actually arrived, he realized that he had thought too simply.
Envoys gathered and officials lined up around. The grand scene was extremely spectacular. Compared with the badly damaged blue bricks on the ground in front of the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City in later generations, the ground today is smooth and buildings with carved beams and painted rafters, and the officials in neat crowns and clothes, and countless envoys in strange costumes, the indescribable solemnity and dignity cannot be compared to any party or meeting.
If it weren't for the endless worship dance, maybe this would be a fresh experience...
Moreover, he witnessed with his own eyes that an old official with gray hair fell down and fainted, and was hurriedly carried away. He also heard people whispering that the chief official had advised this person not to hold on, but he was choked back by the words that it was an honor for a minister of the Ming Dynasty to participate in the Winter Solstice Court Assembly. He, who had just felt a little pity, suddenly felt that he should not be too sympathetic.
There is an essential difference between people of this era and people of his era - not everyone is Zhu Ying, and not everyone is a blessed emperor, because only these two people have the capital to be unique - most people have their own persistence, even if this persistence seems strange to him.
Relying on his youth - the capital provided by the time travel; his good physical strength - the physical strength he had gained from standing in classes every day in the Imperial College, and practicing swordplay twice a day; plus his handsome and elegant gentleman who would always be forgiven - in fact, it was mostly the envious and jealous looks from his colleagues... Zhang Shou finally held on until the end of the open-air court meeting that day.
It took a total of one and a half hours, which was not a long time, but during those three hours of standing in the cold wind, even with ear warmers and hand protectors, he still felt like he had been baptized from beginning to end. Fortunately, after the end, a group of eunuchs immediately brought ginger soup heated over charcoal fire. After each person drank a bowl, it warmed their stomachs and hearts. Zhang Shou saw a large number of middle-aged and elderly officials with expressions of finally coming back to life.
At this moment, he heard Chu Kuan's familiar voice: "The Emperor will send your Winter Solstice gifts to various government offices to reward you for your hard work for the country!"
After these words were spoken, many officials naturally praised the emperor, and many others also showed their joy. When Zhang Shou was about to leave the palace with the others from the Imperial College, he was suddenly intercepted by someone, who turned out to be the second prince.
These days, after instigating his eldest brother to inquire about the weaving and dyeing workshop, the second prince began to wait impatiently for Zhang Shou to bring his men to deal with his eldest brother in the same way. However, he found that not only was nothing wrong with the eldest prince, but he was in high spirits going in and out. The eldest prince's mansion was full of guests all day long, and many of the people who came and went were famous Jiangnan wealthy businessmen and representatives of large and prestigious families.
Now he could no longer sit still. After he had painstakingly found out, he found out that the eldest prince had bought a large number of new textile machines at high prices, and had been negotiating cooperation with a large group of wealthy businessmen and prominent families in Jiangnan in recent days. He almost fainted from anger.
He wanted this elder brother who was unworthy of his position to be stuck in the same quagmire as himself, and had no intention of letting him gain any other benefits!
Zhang Shou, Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu, and Duke Zhao Zhu's family definitely all did it on purpose. They must have felt that the second prince had no hope of inheriting the throne, so they tried to curry favor with the eldest prince!
The second prince, who was filled with hatred, could not stand this humiliation, so he had to mobilize all his spies around the first prince and ordered them to find out what the new spinning machine was at all costs. His efforts paid off, and he killed more than a dozen spies who had been around the first prince for a long time, and finally learned the worst news for him.
The spinning speed of the new spinning machine is said to be six times that of the old spinning machine...at least that's what the eldest prince claimed to the people of Jiangnan!
At this time, the second prince who had intercepted Zhang Shou had a gloomy face, and he wanted to burn Zhang Shou to death with anger alone. At least he knew where this place was. Seeing that others were avoiding him, he said in a low voice with sarcasm: "Dr. Zhang is really good at tricking me, while praising my elder brother to the sky. Do you really think he must be the future...crown prince?"
In his haste, he almost said the future crown prince was the future emperor. But even so, his resentment was still evident. Seeing Zhang Shou sneer and not answer, he became even angrier: "Why, Dr. Zhang dares to do it but not to say it?"
"Haha." Zhang Shou laughed again, and then seeing that the second prince seemed to be about to explode, he said slowly, "The second prince is just unhappy because you didn't get the spinning machine, while the first prince used it to connect with the wealthy and famous families in Jiangnan, gaining both fame and fortune. Instead of blaming others, you can actually do something desperate, no, something that will hurt both sides."
The second prince immediately became suspicious, and then said with contempt and disdain: "Do you think I will believe you?"
"Whether you believe it or not is up to you, Second Prince." Seeing that most people had left, Zhang Shou said nonchalantly, "Second Prince, if you are upset that the First Prince has monopolized the benefits, just go to the Emperor and tell him about it. Just say that the new textile machine benefits the country and the people, how can you let someone monopolize it for your own selfish reasons?"
He summarized the gist of what Zhu Ying had told Wang Jie, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, when he was in front of the emperor. Seeing the second prince's face turn pale, he smiled and said, "That's all I have to say. Second Prince, take your time to think about it. Goodbye."
After walking a long way, when Zhang Shou turned around casually and saw the second prince still standing there blankly, he knew that the second prince still couldn't make up his mind. The reason was simple. The second prince probably still thought that there was a chance to get the blueprint or the spinning machine from the eldest prince. Then he would not only benefit from it, but also win over other prominent families.
With interests at hand, he can't even be awakened. How can such a person still want to seize the throne? Haha...
When Zhang Shou returned to the Imperial College, as soon as he entered the Doctor's Hall, he found that the faces of all the doctors in the Imperial College were very strange. Especially Yang Yiming, who was so excited about the Winter Solstice Court and wanted to devote himself to it, his eyes seemed to want to swallow him up.
Although he didn't know what happened, Zhang Shou had long been accustomed to the hostility of his colleagues, so he simply pretended not to see it. But before he could report to Zhou Jijiu and Luo Siye as planned, and then return to his own Banshan Hall or Jiuzhang Hall, he saw Luo Siye coming out and nodded at him with a smile.
"Doctor Zhang, the winter solstice gift that the emperor just gave to everyone in the Imperial College has been delivered to the Imperial College."
He paused, then added, "Lü Chan, the assistant minister of the Imperial Household Department, came here in person. He also said that your copy of Zuo Zanshan of the Zhanshi Mansion and Shidu of the Hanlin Academy should have been sent to the corresponding government offices, but knowing that you have a lot of work to do, he sent it directly to the Imperial College to save you from having to run around."
After hearing this, if Zhang Shou still didn't understand that those strange looks just now were actually expressions of envy, jealousy and hatred, then he would have lived two lives in vain. Sure enough, the next moment, he only heard Luo Siye say the more enviable part.
"The winter solstice gift given by the Imperial College Doctor is a can of tea, a box of cakes, a pot of wine, and five catties of mutton."
Zhang Shou listened and had a funny thought in his mind. They were all food. Was this because they were worried that the officials of the Imperial College were too poor and had nothing to eat?
"The winter solstice gift from Zuo Zanshan, Zuo Chunfang, Zhanshifu, is a new book written by the emperor, a Xuancheng brush, a pot of wine, and a box of cakes."
This was half food and half fine food, but after all, it was still not worth much. Zhang Shou was still calculating the value in a mercenary way.
"The winter solstice gift given to the Imperial Academy Reader is..." At this point, Luo Siye paused, thinking of the winter solstice gifts given to himself and Zhou Jijiu, two high-ranking officials, and felt that after more than ten years of experience, they were just like this, "a silk robe and a copper sachet ball."
As soon as he finished speaking, the officials of the Imperial College, who had previously only known that Zhang Shou had received three winter solstice gifts and were envious of him, began to buzz and whisper again. Among them, the elderly Yang Yiming had a glare in his eyes.
There is no doubt that the rewards from the Hanlin Academy were the most generous and elegant. Yes, in their eyes, rewarding robes and sachets was more elegant than rewarding books and pens. This perception was common in the court. Fortunately, Zhang Shou was not of high rank and was rewarded with a copper sachet. If it was silver, I'm afraid other people's expressions would be even more wrong.
However, Luo Siye seemed to be fully aware of the fact that one must not stop until one's words are shocking, and he said one more sentence at the end.
"In addition, the emperor said that he appreciated Dr. Zhang's advice and gave him a Sichuan brocade robe. Lu Chan also sent a message, and the emperor approved it."
When Zhu Ying and Wang Jie went to the palace together before, she ran fast, so when Zhang Shou asked for the emperor's reply, she naturally hesitated and was vague. She couldn't avoid it so she said that she would go to the palace again to ask. Zhang Shou was helpless and naturally said that it was not necessary.
At this time, he received this relatively formal reply, and he couldn't help but smile, then he bowed to Luo Siye and said, "Thank you, Shao Sicheng, for passing on the message."
When Zhang Shou received three annual gifts and one special gift in the Imperial College, and was enjoying great glory among his colleagues, the second prince also received his annual gift as a prince. Two pieces of dry cloth, two jars of imperial wine, and nothing else.
Faced with such a bleak scene, he finally made up his mind.
"Get me the blueprints for that spinning machine. I don't care how many people die. I must get it!"
